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Sunday, 1 January 2017

Sunday Snippets - 1st January 2017

Happy New Year! I apologise for being MIA over
the last couple of weeks on my blog. Christmas preparations just seemed to take
over, and then I wanted to spend some quality time with my family, which has
been really lovely. I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas period and are
feeling refreshed and ready for the year ahead. I’ve got a 2016 round-up post
coming soon on here, so make sure you look out for that. But as I missed the
last couple of Sunday Snippets posts, I thought I would let you know what I’ve
been up to.

Before I start though, I would like to dedicate
this post to my very special friend, Tasha, who was sadly killed in a car crash
the day after Boxing Day. She was a massive supporter of my blog and YouTube
channel, as well as an incredibly caring friend, who I miss dearly. Taken far
too soon, I will remember her zest for life and infectious smile. I hope she’s
dancing with unicorns in heaven now.

After a bit of a lie-in on Sunday 18th,
I spent the morning watching a Christmas film and doing some blogging. My
brother, David, and sister-in-law, Emma, came over, so I had a nice chat with
them while I drank my Fortisip. Then my sister drove me down to the church for
the Carols by Candlelight service. My Mum and sister-in-law, Lisa, were singing
in the choir and my Dad and brother, Richard, were playing in the orchestra. It
was a really lovely service and looked beautiful just done by candlelight. I
actually felt a bit Christmassy for the first time this year. My Mum dropped me
home, as she had to go back for the second service. Cars was on the TV, so I
decided to watch that while I wrote some more Christmas cards.

On Monday 19th I had a fairly
chilled out morning watching a bit of TV, which was nice. My Dad then drove me
over to Frimley Park Hospital for an appointment with my jaw physio. She did
some more soft tissue massage, but with a bit more pressure than last time.
After that, she did some laser therapy, so I had to wear funny sunglasses while
I had that! On our way home, we popped into the Post Office so I could send my
overseas cards. I felt pretty shattered when we got home, so rested on the
sofa, watched an episode of The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds I had recorded and
wrote some more cards. This little lady arrived mid-afternoon. Her name is
Polly and we were looking after her over Christmas. My Mum took me down to the
Doctors for a blood test. The lady tried twice, and managed to get just about
enough to fill one vial. But we needed two, so she tried again and got a little
bit. As she was transferring it into the vial though, it slipped and spilt all
over the desk. It’s amazing how far a little bit of blood can go!

I was up quite early on Tuesday 20th,
as my PIP Assessor was due to come between 9am and 11am. Thankfully he arrived
pretty close to 9am, so I didn’t have much time to get more anxious. It was a
pretty draining appointment, as we had to go through all the ways my illnesses
affect me and what I can’t do. But I’m really hoping I was able to get across
what life is like. Once he’d gone I crashed out for a bit and watched some TV.
Around lunchtime I went down to the hairdressers to have my hair cut before
Christmas. It was nice to be pampered for a bit but I kept feeling really
dizzy. After resting for a bit when I got home, my friend, Lilli, came over.
She took me to Costa Coffee and we had a drink and a chat. Then we came back to mine and watched Four
Christmases, which I hadn’t seen for a couple of years.

I overslept on Wednesday 21st, so
had to rush to my counselling appointment. I kept feeling really dizzy during
my session though, which made things quite difficult. When I got home I wrapped
up a few presents that needed to be posted last minute. I then spent the
afternoon editing a video to go up on my YouTube channel. I had a bit of a
scare when the editing software crashed and I thought I’d lost everything, but
thankfully it was all still there when I restarted the computer. While I was
doing that, my Mum was decorating our beautiful Christmas tree (and the rest of
the house!) In the evening my friends, Helen and Sam, came over. We exchanged
presents and chatted for quite a while, which was really lovely.

On Thursday 22nd my Mum and I went
round to my friend, Katy’s, for a bit of pampering. I had a massage and then
had my nails done for Christmas. While my Mum was having her nails done I
caught up on a few emails on my laptop. When we got home I rested for a bit
before my Mum, Dad, sister and I drove over to Festival Place in
Basingstoke. We went to a couple of shops so my Dad could get Bekkah her
Christmas present (some Ugg boots). Then we met the rest of the family and made
our way to The Anvil to see Sleeping Beauty. We hadn’t been to a pantomime in years, and it was
definitely a good laugh. Afterwards, we all came home and had some pizza.

On Friday 23rd I had a bit more of a
lie in that I’d planned, but I obviously needed the sleep (and did feel
absolutely shattered!) My Dad took me down to the Doctors for my second blood
test attempt. Thankfully the lady managed to get it first time, which is
unheard of for me! My Dad and I then went to deliver a few Christmas cards
around Yateley. When we got home I finally put up and decorated the little
Christmas tree in my bedroom. In the afternoon I spent a few hours wrapping
presents. I still had a few left to do, but I felt so worn out I really needed
to rest. I was quite pleased with how they looked though.

On Christmas Eve I tried to get up at a
reasonable time, as I had a busy day ahead. I spent the morning in my pyjamas
watching Despicable Me and wrapping the last of my presents. Once I was dressed
and had done my make-up, I went down to the church to be an angel in their
three Nativity Crib services. I’ve done this every year for as long as I can
remember, and it always helps me feel a bit more Christmassy. I did the
speaking part in the second service, which was absolutely packed – I’ve never
seen so many people! I was shattered by the end, so came home, got into my
pyjamas and curled up on the sofa for the evening.

Christmas Day was a really lovely family day.
We all went to church first thing (apart from Rosiie and her boyfriend, Callum,
who went to the stables to see Mickey). They were home when we got back, so we
managed to get a whole family photo and then opened our stockings. While lunch
was cooking we played Headbanz, which was pretty funny. Then all nine of us sat
down to Christmas lunch, which was lovely. We had a bit of chill time
afterwards before we all sat in the lounge and opened our presents from under
the tree. Richard and Lisa left to go to Lisa’s parents’ house and the rest of
us got into our pyjamas. We spent the evening enjoying a tipple (or two!) and
playing Jibber Jabber and Shots and Crosses.
There were certainly lots of laughs and it was a great end to a lovely day.

Here are a few more photos from our Christmas
Day. It was so lovely to have all the family together, and playing games will
definitely become a tradition!

I woke up really late on Boxing Day feeling not
so great. I could barely keep my eyes open and felt like I needed to sleep
forever. I did my medication for the week, as I wasn’t able to do it on
Christmas Day, then spent the morning making my Grandma a photo calendar online
as a belated Christmas present. The afternoon was pretty restful, just like
Boxing Day should be. First I watched Sleeping Beauty, which I hadn’t seen in
ages. And then, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was on TV, so I watched
that too. In the evening we had our Boxing Day family roast (although I had an
alternative, as my digestive system couldn’t cope with it!)

I had another lie-in on Tuesday morning, and
then spent some time sorting out my Christmas presents from family and taking a
few photos of them. I was yet to open gifts from my friends, so hoped to do
that over the next few days. In the afternoon I went to the cinema with my Dad,
Bekkah, Richard and Lisa to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It was
really good and although it was quite long, it seemed to go by so quickly. We
all came home and Richard and Lisa stayed for dinner. I think I had another
Mast Cell reaction though, as I was struggling so much with itching all over my
body, which wasn’t much fun.

I had a fairly quiet morning on Wednesday,
watching a bit of TV. I started to collect together some photos for my 2016
round-up blog post, although it’s going to take me a while – a lot happened in
2016 (good and bad!) After lunch, I went to see my Grandma with my parents and
Bekkah. She opened a couple of Christmas presents from us including a huge
family photo, which she seemed to really love. We chatted to her for a while,
and then went down the road to see my Uncle. When we got home I ordered some
cards for January birthdays and opened my post – a Boofle 2017 calendar and a
new Filofax insert.

On Thursday morning I went over the road to see
my best friend, Sarah, her husband, Olly, and their gorgeous little man,
Charlie. He’s grown so much since I last saw him! I got to have a cuddle and we
had lots of smiles, which was so lovely. I also had a nice chat with Sarah and
we exchanged presents. I came home at lunchtime, sat on the sofa to watch Peter
Pan and ended up waking up a couple of hours later – oops! I seem to be
absolutely exhausted at the moment. I had a quiet afternoon watching Room on
the Broom and then Shrek the Third. I also managed to order a few belated
Christmas presents for friends, as I was so rubbish at getting them before Christmas.

I got up later than I’d planned on Friday, but
thankfully it didn’t matter too much. My Mum and I went over to our local Next to have a look
round, but we weren’t very impressed with what was left after the sale, so
didn’t buy anything. There’s a Costa Coffee in the store, so we went there for
a bit of lunch, and so that we could have our last Black Forest Hot Chocolate
before the Christmas drinks disappear. We then went next door to Tesco to pick up a couple of
things. I managed to get a couple of bits for my Godson, Jack’s, birthday,
which I was happy about. When we got home I found that the calendar I made for
my Grandma had arrived. I hadn’t expected it to come until January, so was
quite happy to have it so quickly. I had a quiet afternoon on the sofa watching
Wreck it Ralph and filling in my new calendar.

My New Year’s Eve was relatively lazy this
year. I had a quiet morning watching TV and collecting together more photos for
my 2016 round-up blog post, which seems to be taking me ages (so maybe expect
it in June!) In the afternoon I watched a few programmes I’d recorded over Christmas
(Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and Lego at
Christmas) whilst writing my cards for January. I also watched a lovely
programme about Winnie-the-Pooh, who is now 90! In the evening Richard and Lisa
came over, followed by some family friends, and we all celebrated New Year’s
Eve together. We had food and drink, played Cluedo and Uno, watched Robbie
Williams and the fireworks on TV and then had our own little fireworks display
in the back garden. I was so shattered I ended up falling asleep on the sofa
cuddling Freddie.

I also took some silly photos using Snapchat
filters with Rosiie and Bekkah. If you can’t be daft on New Year’s Eve, then
when can you?! I hope you all enjoyed your celebrations yesterday too, and don’t
feel too delicate today!

You can check out my YouTube channel here, where I have recently uploaded a few new videos (and hope to
continue doing!)

I’m also trying to post on Snapchat a bit more,
so if you fancy following me, my username is Jennycole44.

If you don’t already, please give me a follow
on Bloglovin here - I would love to reach 800 followers, and do have a little
giveaway planned for when I get there!

What have you been up to this week? I always
enjoy hearing about your news and adventures!

Hello and welcome...

to Ramblings of a Jaffa Cat! My name is Jenny, I'm 28 and live in Hampshire. I'm a huge fan of Disney, tea and The Simpsons. I love to talk about fashion, beauty, skincare and also raise awareness of mental and physical health problems. Contact me at jaffacat44@gmail.com